A Time to Talk
by ilovetvalot
Summary: This story follows our stories, "Reluctance" and "Simple Truths of a Misbegotten World". Post-ep for "Retaliation". David Rossi has always had trouble expressing his emotions. Co-written with Tonnie
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's Note: This is a new addition to my "Robert Frost world". It follows Reluctance and Simple Truths of a Misbegotten World. This may be seen as a Post Ep to "Retaliation".**_

**A Time to Talk**

**Chapter One**

Watching David Rossi had always been one of Jennifer Jareau's simple pleasures. Age had been kind to the older man, only enhancing his dark good looks and deepening his decidedly masculine appeal. Despite the stress of the last few months, David Rossi still looked mouthwateringly good. Standing now, braced against his study's doorframe, she couldn't pull her eyes away from the older man.

"I see you there, you know," Dave murmured, not looking up from his computer screen as the woman he loved hovered in front of him, her shadow falling perfectly in his line of sight.

"I didn't want to disturb you," JJ admitted quietly, pushing off the polished wood as she stepped across the aged floor. "You looked hard at work and I didn't want to bother you if you were busy."

Pulling his reading glasses off his nose, he tossed them on the desk as he looked up at her, his eyes lovingly caressing the soft curve of her face. "Have I ever been too busy for you, JJ?" Dave asked quietly, rolling his shoulders slightly as he worked out a kink.

"No, never," she replied, shaking her blonde head, hair swaying over her shoulders.

"Henry down for the night?" he asked, rolling his chair back as she crossed the room. No matter how long he spent with this amazing woman, he would never tire of just soaking up her beauty.

"Out like a light," she smiled, allowing him to tug her down into his lap. Sighing as his familiar arms enfolded her waist, JJ rested her head against the side of his neck, letting her body sink deeper into his secure embrace.

Holding her tightly for a moment, Dave slowly relaxed his grip, firmly reminding himself that she was safe and whole in his arms. He found himself doing that a lot since Haley Hotchner had died.

Closing her eyes as she felt his grip loosen, JJ settled her body against his, fitting perfectly into place. These past weeks had been hard on him, and his body language conveyed that message well. He didn't talk about it, but she knew all the same. More than once, she'd awakened in the dead of night to hear him pacing downstairs or find him sitting in the rocking chair in Henry's room, simply watching the tiny boy sleep.

She understood that everyone dealt with grief in their own way and in their own time. Haley's death had hit them all hard in different ways. For her, it was watching the sacrifice that Haley had made to save her child. And she suspected for Dave, it was watching Hotch try to be everyone's everything.

Emily's near miss this week had only shaken their small team even further. It could just as easily have been her neck that had been broken by their psychotic unsub as it had been the cop working the case with her. It had shaken them all. But none more than Aaron Hotchner. Their fledgling relationship had already taken a blow with Haley's death. Emily's near miss had shaken them even further. For both their sakes, JJ hoped they'd work it out.

But as much as she loved her team, JJ also knew that, right now, she had bigger problems to deal with.

"You need to talk to me," JJ whispered against Dave's neck, her fingers sweeping against the starched collar of his shirt.

"Huh?" he grunted, resting his chin against her gleaming blonde head, rubbing his whiskered chin softly against her hair.

"Don't play dumb, Rossi. It's beneath you," JJ chastised him, her fingers stopping their movement. She was finished letting him hide from her. She'd tried giving him time…but her patience had reached its limit.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about, babe," Dave said quietly, evasively, silently praying he could avoid this conversation. His demons were his own…he didn't see any reason to drag the woman he loved into his nightmares with him. She deserved light and peace, not the darkness and hell that seemed to surround him on a regular basis.

"Pleading ignorance isn't going to work as an avoidance tactic either," JJ informed him easily, one eyebrow cocked. "We need to talk."

"Honey, in case you've missed it, we've been talking for the past five minutes," Dave chuckled against her hair, tightening his grip ever so slightly.

"No, you've been stalling for the last five minutes. We haven't actually SAID anything in weeks. We work, we take care of Henry, and we make love…but we haven't TALKED about anything that's happened between us or within the team since Henry and I moved out here," JJ replied evenly, purposefully keeping accusation from her voice.

Feeling his heart catch, Dave stared down at the top of her head. "Are you unhappy, Bella?" Dave asked softly, his chest tightening even as he said the words, unexpected fear welling up.

"Unhappy?" JJ asked, lifting her head to look into his hooded eyes as his body stiffened beneath her. "No, David," she whispered, reassuringly, softly shaking her head. "I'm happy with you. More happy with you than I've ever been with anyone in my life."

Relaxing slightly, the panic abating inch by inch, he drew her closer as he softly offered, "Then I'm not sure what you're talking about, babe. If we're happy, then…"

"Dave, stop," JJ ordered, determined not to let him sweep this conversation under the rug with his typical avoidance tactics. "I'm worried. You aren't communicating with me anymore. You aren't sharing. And if we're supposed to be a team and keep this relationship between us healthy, then we've got to clear the air."

"Baby, there's no bad air between us to clear," Dave replied deeply, smoothing a hand down her arm. "We're fine, sweetheart."

"None of us are fine, Dave," JJ denied, jerking her eyes back to his. "Not a one of us. These last months have been a living hell. And we haven't ever talked about it."

"JJ," Dave sighed, shrugging his shoulders as he leaned them farther back in the deep leather chair. "What the hell is there to say? Haley died. Emily almost got killed. I don't know what you want from me here."

"I want you to talk about it. I want you to explain why it is that for the past week, I've woken up in our bed alone and heard you pacing or found you just sitting in the nursery. I want you to talk to me about it!" JJ pleaded, pulling away slightly to force him to meet her eyes.

"There's nothing to say, Bella. I'm fi-,"

"Don't say it!" JJ ordered, her cheeks reddening in frustration as she slapped a hand against his chest. "Don't sit here and lie to me and tell me that you're fine. You're not fine, David!"

Pushing her gently off his lap, Dave shook his head as he stood. "This is a waste of time, Jennifer. There's nothing to say."

"Bullshit," JJ fired back at his turned back, propping one hand on her hip. "Either you talk to me now, Rossi or we end this," JJ threatened, drawing herself to her full height as she delivered her ultimatum.


	2. Chapter 2

**A Time to Talk**

**Chapter Two**

Turning sharply, Dave narrowed his eyes at the beautiful woman across the room. "Excuse me?" he asked, his voice low in the still room. "What did you just say?"

Lips tightening, JJ took a step closer to him, returning his stare. "Let me be real clear here, Dave. I won't share this home with you if you're going to lie to me. You aren't fine and we don't talk anymore. I love you, but I'm not going to be just a pretty ornament in your home."

"Our home," Dave corrected her softly, his jaw clenching as he felt the panic start to walk up his spine once again.

"Sorry," JJ shrugged, her tone informing him that she was not quite, indeed, as regretful as the word might convey. "I don't feel like there's much of a "we" here lately. I love you, but I can't sit around wondering what you're thinking anymore. Either we get whatever's bothering you out in the open and handle it together or Henry and I leave. I'm happy with you, Dave. You're a wonderful father to Henry, but it'll just be a matter of time before it all falls apart if we can't talk to each other anymore."

"JJ-," Dave whispered, taking a step in her direction, "Honey, please…"

"That's the deal, Dave," JJ said, crossing her arms over her chest and taking a step backward when he reached for her.

"Shit," Dave muttered, dropping his hands back to his sides. Meeting her clear gaze across the small distance separating them, he shook his head again. "JJ, the way I'm reacting…I'm not trying to hurt you. I'm trying to..to…hell, I don't know how to say it," Dave growled, his frustration growing by the second.

"Just talk to me, Dave. That's all I'm asking for here," JJ begged, eyes widening as she watched his face contort ever so slightly.

"I'm trying, Bella," Dave murmured, running restless hands through his salt and pepper hair. "When you've kept things locked inside for years, changing the way you do things takes more than a few seconds."

Biting her lip, JJ nodded, watching his face clench again as he took a deep breath, his chest expanding with the increased air.

"It never seemed fair to burden my past wives with the horrors of my job," he confessed quietly, tucking his hands in his pockets as he stared down at his loafers.

"First," JJ began, one finger popping into the air, "I'm not your wife…"

"Not because I don't want that very thing, JJ. That's your choice, not mine," Dave replied quickly, looking up to fix her with a meaningful look.

"I know that, Dave," JJ said quietly, her eyes calmly meeting his. "And that's not what this conversation is about. And second, I see those horrors every day, too. You don't have to be afraid to burden me."

"You want the truth, Jen?" Dave asked wearily, each word heavily weighted. "Ever since Haley died, I've asked myself every day why the hell I came back to all this. I'd been gone ten years, Bella. Ten long years…and nothing's changed. Oh, the toys got brighter and shinier…but there's still as much evil out there as there ever was."

"Have you come up with any answers…on why you came back?" JJ asked calmly, willing to give him time to reach the main topic, gratified that he was talking at all.

"Nope, not any that makes sense to me. I do know why I stay though," he replied, cocking his dark head to the side. "I figured out why I can't walk away again."

"O-kay," JJ drawled, leaning her hip against his oak desk. "Fill me in."

"You. And Henry. As long as the kind of monsters lurk out there that took Haley, I can't stop hunting them. Not when I know that you and my boy could just as easily become their intended victims," Dave explained, his voice husky as he remembered Haley's poor still body lying against that cold wooden floor. "I pace because of the nightmares, JJ. In my dreams, it isn't Haley's body in that house. It's yours."

"Dave-," JJ whispered, pushing away from the desk to move closer, suddenly needing to close the distance between them.

"It's Henry hiding in that chest," Rossi continued, his voice rough as he clenched his eyes closed, his fists pressing against the edge of the desk. "And it's me pulling him out of it!"

Reaching up to cup his cheek, JJ winced as the man she loved jerked at her touch, his eyes still closed. "Open your eyes, David," she commanded him softly, her words calm but demanding. "Come on, open them."

Slowly lifting his lids as he let her voice sooth the demons fighting for control inside him, Dave saw her standing there, waiting patiently. "Do you know how many enemies I have? How many unsubs that would love to take a shot at me? It could have been ME, Jennifer."

"But it wasn't," JJ stressed, her voice soft but firm. "You didn't make any deals with anybody. It wasn't US," she continued, willing him to comprehend that simple truth.

"But-,"

"No buts, Dave," JJ said, shaking her head back and forth resolutely, refusing to allow him to live in the land his mind had created for him.

"There is a "but", Cara. It could have been me…and I'm not as strong as Hotch. If I lost you…"

"I'm not going anywhere. Neither is Henry," JJ told him, her voice confident and sure in the otherwise silent room.

"JJ, you can't promise me that…anymore than I can make you the same promise in return. Look what just happened to Emily. That could've been you, too."

"So what, David? Do we hide ourselves away and pray the bogeyman doesn't find us? Or do we do what we always do and pursue him first?" JJ asked, her question rhetorical. They both already knew the answer.

"You said you wanted me to talk," Dave snapped, his tone belligerent, needing to lash out at someone, something.

"And I do. I need to know what you're feeling. You need to know what I'm feeling. But, we can't change the things that have happened. Haley's gone. So is her murderer. Emily is okay. And the man that tried to harm her is dead. All we can do now is learn everything we can from what happened and move on. Dwelling on what we didn't do right isn't going to bring anybody back from the dead. I'm here. Standing right here in front of you with no intention of going anywhere but to our bed."

Staring down at her, Dave finally nodded, her words slowly sinking through the shield he had surrounded himself with. "I'm used to holding things in, Bella. It's not a punishment…it's just me."

"Well, you are a "we" now. And I have to know what you're thinking," JJ said simply, sweeping a soft hand against his cheek. "I realize that you did things differently in the past. But I need a partner, Dave. In the good times AND the bad ones."

Reaching out to pull her against him, Dave nodded, drawing in a deep breath, inhaling the fragrance that was uniquely her. "You've got one, Bella. But if you ever threaten to leave me again, I'm gonna be forced into taking drastic measures."

"Like?" JJ drawled, draping her arms around his solid shoulders as she grinned mischievously up at him.

"How 'bout tying you to our bed until you agree to marry me?" Dave suggested, dropping a gentle kiss against her soft lips, lingering against her pliant skin.

Smiling gently up at his slowly relaxing face, JJ laughed, the soft tinkle music to his ears. "You just don't quit, do you?"

"Not when there's something I really want. And I really want you and Henry to be mine in a very permanent sense," Dave replied seriously, his hands tightening.

"What if I promise to give the notion my devoted consideration," JJ bargained, pressing slightly tighter against him.

"Then I'd suggest we adjourn deliberations to our bedroom. I do my best convincing when I've got you flat on your back," Dave replied, wriggling his eyebrows at her.

Lifting up to press a kiss to his warm lips, JJ nodded. "I'd say you've got yourself a deal, Agent Rossi."

_**FINIS**_


End file.
